Literary Devices
Focus Skill
• No two authors tell a story in the same way.
Literary devices are tools that authors use to
make their writing style unique or to let
readers know how they feel about a subject.
The next slide shows some literary devices.
Literary Device Dialogue
• Dialogue- is the conversation between characters.
It reveals characters’ feelings and traits.
• Fay: Hi Jerry. The school year is almost over. Do
you have any plans for the summer holiday?Jerry:
I'm planning on sleeping all day, every day!
• Fay: Oh, come on Jerry, you must be kidding.
• Jerry: Yeah, I'm just pulling your leg. Actually, I'm
going to go down to Guizhou Province.
• Fay: Really? Why would you go to Guizhou? It's
not a very popular tourist site.
Literary examples Symbol
• A person place, thing, or event that stands for
something other than itself is called a symbol.
• A symbol is a character, place or thing that stands for
an idea.
• For example a heart is the symbol for love
• Example:
• The phrase “a new dawn” does not talk only about the
actual beginning of a new day but also signifies a new
start, a fresh chance to begin and the end of a previous
tiring time.
• symbolism
Literary examples Tone
• Tone is the author’s attitude about the
subject. It helps set the mood or overall
feeling of the story. An author’s word choice
reveals a story’s mood and tone.
• Marry Poppins 2:15-5:15
• The tone that is used effects the feelings you
feel.
More tone examples
• Tone in writing is conveyed by both the choices of words
and the narrator of the story.
• Consider the tone of The School by Donald Barthelme.
Here, words like "death" and "depressing" set a negative or
unhappy tone:
• And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know
why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the
soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery
wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got
thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to
plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids
looking at these little brown sticks, it was depressing.In
contrast, in Charlotte's Web, although the book is sad, the
tone is one of peace and acceptance:
Tone 2
• But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning
was, to a small degree, my success. Your future is assured.
You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you
now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The
leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas
will come, and the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy
the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal
to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will
pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture
pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will
awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and
sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur—this
lovely world, these precious days…”
• Examples of tone in a story include just about any
adjective you can imagine:
• Scared
• Anxious
• Excited
• Worried
• Foolish
• Smart
• Depressing
Day 2
• Dialogue- does not necessarily reflect the way
an author feels. It shows only how a character
feels. Do not confuse a character’s beliefs or
ideas with those of an author.
Dialogue Example
• Page 596
• “Your son!” they cried. “He does nothing at
all, but make the most monstrous noises. This
does not seem befitting the son of a King!
• How do the exclamation points in the dialogue
of the villagers help show their feelings?
• Shows their deep concern the points add
emphasis.
Symbol
• A person, place, or thing may be a symbol that
represents something else. However, that
person place, or thing is also a real part of the
selection. When thinking about symbolic
meaning do not ignore the actual meaning.
Symbol Example
• Page 600
• What does YaZi, the seventh son symbolize?
• Military, fear, etc.
Tone
• An author’s tone may change during the
course of a selection . For example, an author
may use a simple tone when speaking about a
child and a more formal tone hen speaking
about a professor. The tone may show how
the author feels about a character, place or
thing.
Tone II
•
1]
•
ironic - Something is ironic if the result is the opposite of what was intended; an ironic event
is an incongruous event, one at odds with what might have been expected.
Tone may be formal, informal, intimate,
solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic,
anguilty, to condescending, or many other
possible attitudes
Tone Example
• Page 603
• Why is it ironic that the Dragon king is able to
smile?
•
ironic - Something is ironic if the result is the opposite of what was intended; an ironic event
is an incongruous event, one at odds with what might have been expected.
• The sons of the dragon king behave in ways
that are not proper for the son of a king. Yet
the Dragon King manages to find an
appropriate job for each of them.
Literary examples Irony
• Irony is a contrast between what readers
expect to happen and what actually happens.